The Promise

Pyramid Mountain, Patricia Lake, Jasper, Alberta

This image is a personal favorite. I had just spent several weeks in Alaska's Tongass National Forest, trying to photograph bears. The Tongass is a temperate rainforest, and it did rain. The rain was nearly continuous, with only a short break now and then. When it was time to move on to Jasper National Park in Canada, I was happy to be leaving the rain behind, or so I thought. Jasper's weather was nearly identical to that in Alaska, with perpetual heavy clouds and rain that would usually start shortly after sunrise and last until dark. After nearly a week of this, and with only two days left in the trip, I was depressed about the quality of the images I had gotten. The next morning I wanted to sleep in, but I did not. Instead I checked for rain. When I found none I decided to haul my camera equipment down to Patricia Lake and wait for what I assumed would be the gradual brightening of a steel gray sky. When the sunrise came it was foggy and cold, but to my amazement the fog briefly cleared to reveal Pyramid Mountain, and its blue-sky reflection in Patricia Lake. I got only one good image before the fog once again covered up the mountain, but that was enough to lighten my spirits. Those brief moments signaled the promise of a new day, and others that would follow in the weeks, months, and years, ahead.